Ian McShane Will Mentor The Rock In Hercules

You think you know the story of Hercules? The Rock and Brett Ratner are en route to proving you wrong. The Tower Heist director is helming a new and reportedly grittier take on the Greek myth from the Radical Studios graphic novel that sets up the mighty demigod as a mercenary for hire. Dwayne Johnson will front Hercules in the title role, and previous casting reports revealed Aksel Hennie (Headhunters) and Rufus Sewell (Dark City) will co-star. But with production set to start in a few short weeks, casting is heating up. And this epic's ensemble is growing even more impressive.

THR reports that Ian McShane (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), John Hurt (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (A One-Way Trip to Antibes) have signed on to the tent pole pic. As this version of the Hercules story has its burly hero not as a god, but as mortal with a band of badass fellow mercenaries, we can assume some of this lot will play Johnson's comrades in arms.

For his part, McShane, who is best known for playing the fearsome Al Swearengen on the acclaimed HBO series Deadwood, is set to portray Amphiarus, a character described as a priest, prophet, and warrior who counsels Hercules. The roles of the rest of these new additions are presently unknown.

Hercules is looking to kick off production in Budapest this May. The big budget action-adventure is scheduled to hit theaters July 25th, 2014.